Category Archives: General

Let wet markets fade away gradually, but not now

Posted on 31 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Let wet markets fade away gradually, but not now

I AM a 37-year-old supermarket patron who believes that wet markets will be a thing of the past within the next 10 years. Supermarkets have proper food-handling procedures, accountability for returns and competitive pricing. Also, in general, they offer shoppers a much more pleasant milieu.

But the way the authorities have relinquished wet markets to private investors stinks, if you will pardon the pun.

Where will less well-educated but specially skilled stallholders find jobs to support themselves and their families in rapidly urbanising Singapore?

Many stallholders I know barely passed Primary 6.

They cannot move to another wet market because there are so many wet markets passing all at once into private investors’ hands. And the fact is, there are severely limited opportunities at other already tenanted markets.

We are in the midst of recovering from the economic downturn and the timing of supermarket chain Sheng Siong acquiring the bulk of the wet markets is disheartening.

Let the number of wet markets dwindle gradually – and let them fade away completely if they must, but not this way, and not now.

Wendy Lam (Ms)

Source : Straits Times – 31 Oct 2009

Comments Off on Let wet markets fade away gradually, but not now

Posted in General, HDB

Tagged ,

Wet markets have been transformed, says hawker’s son

Posted on 31 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Wet markets have been transformed, says hawker’s son

MY PARENTS are hawkers in a wet market and I have seen how the markets have been transformed.

One good example is Tiong Bahru Market. Before the refurbishment, it was small and unpleasant. Now, it is clean, has modern shopping facilities and a wide variety of items.

Wet markets are also places where the elderly gather to share the latest news on their families. I remember vividly how old grannies would come up to my father and ask him to keep a lookout for their friends so they could sit down for a cup of tea in the cooked food section.

With flexible prices, wet markets are also ideal places for foreign workers to patronise.

An increasing number of young people can be observed shopping at the wet market as well. It is not only the increased cleanliness that draws people to shop there, but also the closeness and friendliness of the stallholders.

So if you have not been to a wet market, head down to Tiong Bahru Market this weekend. It is an ideal model for other wet markets to follow, and I hope it can change the misconceptions some Singaporeans have of wet markets.

Lee Yean Yang

Source : Straits Times – 31 Oct 2009

Comments Off on Wet markets have been transformed, says hawker’s son

Posted in General, HDB

Tagged